The Donald Gordon Third Foundation

Analysis

The Donald Gordon Third Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in February 2008, 18 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, the advancement of health or saving of lives, the prevention or relief of poverty and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending February 2025, The Donald Gordon Third Foundation reported income of £1.7m and spending of £1.0m, leaving 40% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from February 2021 to February 2025, income grew from £2,933 to £1.7m (+58672%), an average of +392% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to February 2023, when income rose by 125578%. Over the whole period it spent 16% of the income it received.

Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, The Donald Gordon Third Foundation sits at the 92nd percentile: it is larger than about 92% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 96th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Cerebral Palsy Cymru (£1.7m), East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust Charitable Fund (£1.7m) and Lincoln City Foundation (£1.7m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 72% and investments 28%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £1.2m. Charitable activities took 94% of spending and raising funds 0.0%. Grants to other organisations totalled £966k. Reserves of £6.5m would cover about 71 months of spending at that rate.